Chasing The Plock!

My match play is improving; during the last couple of weeks I won my last two USTA mixed doubles matches with my partners, and two of my singles ladder matches.  I am mostly winning with social matches as well playing just doubles. So, you'd think I should be satisfied, but I am not. Somethings are not quite right. I do have issues with my footwork, which creates timing issues, which in turn results in inconsistencies.  At least that is my own analysis. I try to address this by increasing my cardio performance as best as I can, work on my leg muscles and abdominals, etc. None have resulted in any tangible benefits. So, what else or other is wrong? It is an ongoing search... I have not experienced being in the zone yet. Although I know how to recognize it due to having experienced it quite often during my track days (HPDEs), I am yet to find that zone with tennis.  Part of it is experience, I think I need to play many more matches before I...

First Singles Win!!! Finally I won my first singles match, and the best part was coming back from behind. I signed up for my club's ladder and issued my first challenge to a player that is about my level, knowing from the clinics we both attend.  However, the match was much tougher than I thought it would be.  This is ladder played based on Super 10 Pro Sets. We started with my serve as I knew I would serve better with the initial energy I have, and when my energy drops my first serves suffer quite a bit. As expected I was serving well, but my opponent wasn't phased by my flat or kick serves, and lost on my serve. Then I broke his serve, then he broke mine again and that's how it continued until 2-2. After that he kept breaking on my serves, but held his, shortly thereafter it was 2-5. Part of the problem was even when my first serves were good, I stayed passive at the baseline and not take advantage of the weak return of my opponent. This is partly due to tr...

Plock Is Coming Along Well Month of September has been great, my improvement has kicked into one higher gear, subsequently my enjoyment of Tennis. I still have many issues to resolve, however, my consistency has improved dramatically, as well as spins and power I can deliver both with my backhand and forehand. First thing I tackled was my forehand, trying to find the factors that would give me good power in combination of topspin to make sure the shots do not go long, and at the same time better my technique in a way that does not put too much strain on my arm and elbow. Power is not the objective of course, I also worked on being able to hit forehands with medium pace and spin, while keeping the bounce within the last 5-6 ft portion of opposing court. It all boiled down to three things: (1) keeping my feet and legs mobilized, so I can position my body in the right place to be able to execute the next two items. I am doing much better with this, but there is plenty of room for im...

All Natural Gut Experience I initially did not like it much after my hybrid experience. After few hours of play I loved it, the feel and sound of it are addictive. I also got very good in managing my spins and flat shots, it seems to be the best compromise frankly.  Additionally, there is no guessing when the strings go bad; I felt a slight drop in tension 2-3 hours before the end, and then saw the filaments separating from certain spots, and then kaboom, string broke.  A total of 14 hours of play. On my backup racket I have VS Team natural gut on mains, and Luxilon 4G for crosses. Switching back to this setup, I am missing the all natural gut feel and sound, and I think my shots were more consistent, the only negative is I think my arm hurt more with all natural gut setup than the hybrid.  I will continue to play with this setup for another 14-18 hours and make a final decision then how I want both of my rackets strung and tensions.

1st Tournament I entered my first USTA tournament in Men's 3.5 Singles category last week. I was excited to play my first competitive match, I did not feel nervous.  Apparently I was nervous however; I lost the match 6-2/6-0 to a person I should have easily beaten.  My serve deserted me, my backhand was no where to be found, my drop shots all dropped to my own court and my forehand was below par at best. Although I was not feeling nervous, I was playing for points   consciously  for sure , and I think that impacted my touch and feel; I was really lousy. I feel very good however that I got at least one match under my belt, and hopefully I learned enough that I won't repeat the same mistakes next time around.  I am certainly lacking match experience at this point, my practice game does not translate on the match play, and that is something I have to fix.  I don't know exactly how to do that just yet, but I will condition myself mentally ...

First Practice Match I played a 4.0+ as part of a practice match last weekend, lost 6-2/6-0. I have to admit that I had a lot more fun that I thought I would. My forehand wasn't bad or good, my backhand was nearly non-existent, but my serves, volley and touch were... just superb! I think my 1st serves were nearly 50% and I was accurate to the point, wide or to the T. I had 4 aces, two in one game during first set, and returns were definitely not great during those serves. I also had 7 or 8 double faults, but I wasn't worried about those at all. Overall I was really pleased with my game, and now have a better idea on what to work on. First tournament is this coming weekend. I am not expecting to win any matches, but I sure will be having fun in the 3.5 Men's Single division.

Strings Of The Past, Getting On With The " Hybrids " Technology has changed certainly over last three decades. The new rackets and strings are such a huge improvement from the days I played seriously, I feel I am relearning tennis. Without understanding the best ways to use the technology available, it is no longer possible to be effective on court it seems. One of the changes that has caught me by surprise is the much closer link between racket type, composition, weight/balance to strings utilized. The sheer number of different rackets on the market is not possible for me to follow, and equally vast number of type of strings available. So, when you look at the possible permutations, it is mind boggling for me. So, I making it easy on myself: When I first picked my racket (Wilson ProStaff RF97A), I just went with the recommended string imprinted on the racket, Wilson Championship Duo string set with 59 lbs main string tension and 56 on the crosses. Incidentally, I had nev...